Janie's Got A Gun
by ArabianNights18
Summary: Based off of the song by Aerosmith. Jacob finds his imprint in the most unlikely of girls; a runaway with a tragic story. JacobXOC ON HIATUS: I just don't care anymore. If someone else wants to finish this, let me know. I have a final chapter written, but I can't be bothered to write the rest.
1. Chapter 1

Janie ran through the forest, tears streaming from her eyes. She was dressed only in a thin nightgown, which snagged on the tree branches that whipped against her. Blinded by her tears and jumble of emotions, she didn't care that she was bleeding from her bare feet and the multiple cuts across her exposed skin. All she cared about was running. Running and hiding.

"Ow," Janie said softly, tripping over a root and landing hard on the ground. Her palms were now cut up and bleeding with the rest of her. She tried to stand, but collapsed in a heap, losing the will to move any longer. She felt her tears dripping onto the leaves under her head. The sound was surprisingly soothing. She closed her eyes, curling up in a ball, before falling into a troubled sleep.

* * *

Waking up the next morning, Janie felt stiff and cold. However, her mind was surprisingly calm. For the first time in her seventeen years, she did not have that terrible weight on her shoulders.

Her eyes remained closed for a long time. She did not want to wake up, just incase her escape had been only a dream. But she could feel the earth under her thin body and the light breeze against her skin. She sat up slowly, her eyes resolutely shut. Moaning, she stretched to relieve the tension in her muscles. Gradually, she opened her eyes to the sunlight filtering through the green leaves above her. She smiled, feeling the warmth of the summer sun on her face. It felt so good. Until she caught sight of what was sitting in front of her.

"Oh my!" she said breathlessly, backing up rapidly until she was against the nearest tree. Less than ten feet from her sat an enormous brown wolf. She had never seen a wild animal before, apart from the occasional squirrel. She had lived in the heart of Seattle, and had never ventured away from her house except to go to school. To see one so close, especially one so incredibly enormous, was almost more than she could handle.

She sat still, eyes wide with fear, for what seemed like an age. The wolf just laid still, paws folded in front of it, big brown eyes watching Janie curiously. She dare not move or take her eyes off the creature. She had read of people being ripped apart by wild animals, and she was determined not to let that happen to her hours after gaining her freedom.

But as she sat there, petrified, she began to cramp up. She couldn't sit still for much longer, especially with the pain now shooting through her right leg. It was curled up under her at an odd angle, holding nearly all her weight. She started trembling violently as her leg began to give. With a soft squeal of pain, she fell forward, landing in a heap.

Quivering, she looked up slowly, blue eyes wide as they fell upon the wolf in front of her, half hidden by her dirty-blonde hair covering her face. It was now less than three feet from her. Not wanting to startle it any more than she already undoubtedly had, she pushed herself up carefully onto her knees, brushing her hair out of her face so she could see the enormous beast better.

As she sat on her knees, her eyes met the wolf's eyes. They were a dark brown, almost black. After looking into those eyes, Janie found she couldn't escape its, or his, gaze. She didn't know how, but she knew instinctively that it was a male, and that he wasn't going to hurt her.

While they sat staring at each other, Janie heard a soft whine come from the wolf's throat. She turned her head to the side, curious. For a wild animal, he was surprisingly calm in her presence. In fact, he looked kind of sad. His ears were back and he held his head lower than hers. He seemed rather submissive, not threatening in any sense, despite his size and the fact that he could kill her in seconds if he chose to. He whined again, and Janie blinked in dawning comprehension.

"Are you worried about me?" she asked quietly, not quite believing she was talking to an animal. As soon as she said it, she felt incredibly stupid. However, the wolf's ears perked up, and he whined again. She took that as a yes.

"I'm alright, though I must have hit my head when I fell last night. I can't believe I'm talking to a wolf," she said with a smile. The wolf bent down, leaning his head on his front paws. Before she could think better of it, Janie found herself reaching toward him slowly, bending closer. The wolf sat perfectly still, his eyes watching her hand as it moved closer to his head.

When she was within an inch of his muzzle, he let out a low growl. Janie quickly pulled her hand back, fearing she had upset him someway. But as soon as she did, the wolf put his ears back again, whining as if to apologize. She hesitated, her brain screaming at her that this was a wild animal and would think nothing of ripping off her outstretched arm. But she started reaching for him again, some strange force urging her to touch him.

As soon as her finger touched him, the biggest grin that had ever graced her features spread across her face. She moved closer so she sat right in front of him, running her thin fingers through his russet coat. He was so soft and warm, she wanted to bury her face in his fur and go back to sleep. She refrained from doing so, however, and contented herself with running her fingers the fur around his neck.

"This is so strange," Janie said softly as she pet the wolf. "I have never trusted a human in my entire life. But within minutes of meeting you, I trust you completely." She smiled as the wolf made a soft rumbling sound. It wasn't a growl, or a whine. If Janie didn't know better, she would have called it a purr.

* * *

Jacob watched as the girl tilted her head, watching him with her large blue eyes. He whined again, sad that he couldn't communicate with her the way he wanted to. Against all odds, he had found the girl lying in the middle of the woods. Granted, she was a little worse for wear, covered in cuts and bruises, but still whole. He could hardly believe it. But as soon as she had woken up and looked into his eyes, he had felt like he had run into a brick wall. He had heard the other pack members talk about it, but he had never really considered how much of an impact imprinting really had.

"Are you worried about me?" she asked quietly. Jacob's ears shot up in excitement. Could she understand him? All he wanted to do was to run into the forest and phase, so he could talk to her face to face. But he was afraid to leave, unrealistically fearing she would disappear. He whined again, willing her to understand him.

"I'm alright," she said, smiling softly. Jacob's heart sped up, the thrill of hearing her talk and seeing her smile almost too much for him to handle. "Though I must have hit my head when I fell last night," she continued. "I can't believe I'm talking to a wolf." Jacob honestly could barely believe she was either, but he was far from complaining about it. He bent down, leaning his head on his paws, never taking his eyes off her. She remained still for a moment, before, much to Jacob's pleasure, she started reaching forward towards him.

As she moved closer to him, he remained completely still, not wanting to scare her off. But at the same time, he started hearing another voice in his head.

_Whoa Jake, I think you imprinted on a wood nymph,_ Embry's voice said humorously. _And keep those inappropriate thoughts to yourself._ Jake had at that moment been thinking about the girl's small hands against his human skin. He growled, sending back some profanity-filled thoughts to Embry.

To his dismay, the growl hadn't been confined to his head, and the girl had pulled her hand away quickly, afraid he was growling at her. He immediately whined, putting his ears back again, begging her to reach out for him again. She hesitated, but extended her hand once more. Jacob ignored the laughter in his head, focusing on the girl in front of him.

As soon as her small, cold hand touched him, he saw her face light up with the most beautiful smile he had ever seen. His eyes closed as she moved closer to him, stroking his fur happily. He would have gone and phased right then and there, but that would have meant not having her hands running through his hair anymore, and he didn't have the willpower to let that happen at the moment.

"This is so strange," she said softly. Jacob opened his eyes, looking up into hers as she spoke, wanting her to know he was listening. Embry must have phased back to tell Sam and the others, because his thoughts were no longer in Jacob's head. He could focus fully on the gorgeous person in front of him. "I have never trusted a human in my entire life. But within minutes of meeting you, I trust you completely." Her words produced a conflict in Jacob that he never could have predicted. He was ecstatic that she trusted him completely, but was devastated by the rest of what she'd said. She had never trusted a human in her life. He couldn't phase now and come to her as he wanted to. He would surely loser her then. How was he going to make this work?

* * *

Janie sat there stroking the wolf's fur, deep in thought. She felt so safe, so content. It was thrilling and terrifying at the same time. The feeling itself was so new; she didn't know how to react to it. But as she sat there, the wolf looked up suddenly, nose in the air. Janie looked up, sniffing the air. She smelled it too. It smelled vaguely metallic. Then she realized why.

"Oh no," she said, taking her hand off the wolf suddenly. This seemed to upset it more than the smell had; it looked around at her abruptly, as if asking why she would dare remove her hand. But Janie was preoccupied. It seemed one of her larger cuts had opened again, and her thigh was covered in blood.

"No, no, no," she said, wiping the blood off her leg with the already frayed and dirty hem of her nightgown. With enough of the blood removed, she could see the wound, a large gash just above her knee. It was oozing slowly, not enough to be fatal if not stitched, but enough to worry her, considering she knew no healing, apart from bruises. She had plenty of those over the years to have made her an expert.

As she was trying to stop the bleeding, she had not noticed the wolf stand up, coming around to her other side. When she realized he had moved, she looked up, and comprehended for the first time just how enormous he really was. If she had thought him big lying down, it was nothing to how large he was at full height.

"What are you doing?" she asked nervously as he lay down next to her once more, looking at her bleeding leg. She gasped as he bent his head toward the wound, and began licking away the blood. She sat there rigid waiting for him to take a liking the taste and to take a bite out of her. But he never did. He just sat lay there, cleaning her wound. After he stopped, she noticed that the bleeding had subsided. It hit her suddenly that she had read once that saliva helped blood clot. Smart wolf.

"Well thank you," she said, crossing her legs and looking him in the eyes once again. He inched forward carefully, nudging her hand with his muzzle, asking to be pet again. She smiled, and did not disappoint him.

* * *

Jacob stayed with his imprint until she fell asleep around noon. He desperately wanted to stay and watch over her. But he knew if she was awake and running her fingers through his fur, he would never be able to leave. And he really needed to go talk to Sam. With one last look at her, he ran off toward the Uley home.

"Jake, Embry told us what happened," Sam said as soon as the younger man entered the house. He was sitting in the living room with his fiancée Emily. The only other person in the house was Seth, Emily's cousin and another member of the pack, who quickly got up and left, giving Jacob a smile before shutting the door behind him.

"Well," Sam said, watching Jacob as he sat in a chair across from the other two. "Embry said you imprinted. But he was a little fuzzy on the details."

"I found her when I was returning home after patrolling last night. She was just lying in the forest in a nightgown, covered in cuts and bruises," Jacob said slowly. "I was curious as to why she was just sleeping in the mild of nowhere, but when she awoke this morning, I looked at her, and I suddenly couldn't control myself. I had to be there with her. I couldn't leave or move or anything. But, there is something odd, and I can't just ask her about it."

"What is it?" Emily asked, concerned. Jacob sat there looking at his hands for a moment, unsure of how to phrase what he wanted to say.

"Well, she said that she has never trusted a human in her life. So, I don't know what to do. I want to go to her as me, but I think she'd run. Something happened to her, which is why she was in the forest. But, I just am at a loss as to what to do now."

"I don't know what to tell you Jake," Sam said after a moment. He said it hesitantly, as though he wasn't sure of himself, which was unusual for the pack's leader. "My suggestion is just to stay with her as a wolf right now. Embry said she was talking to you, maybe she will tell you what happened and you can think of a solution from there. This is a very unusual case, and you'll have to be careful how you handle it. She doesn't know anything about us, as far as we know, and you don't want to do anything to drive her away."

Jacob nodded sadly. He had hoped that Sam would have some brilliant plan for getting her to come to him—human him—but apparently it wasn't going to be that easy. He took a deep breath. If Quil could wait years for a toddler to grow up, he could wait however long it took for his imprint to be with him.


	2. Chapter 2

To Janie's surprise, the wolf came back to her. And not just once. For over a week, she would wake up and see him sitting there. He was only there in the morning, and would leave while she slept during the middle of the day. She had never taken naps before, but she found them helpful, and probably helped speed her healing.

After awhile, she began to talk to him. Her conversations were very one-sided, but they helped her deal with her problems. One particularly cold morning, she sat leaning against a tree, her wolf's head in her lap while she ran her fingers through the thick fur around his neck. Despite the chill in the air, she felt incredibly warm with her wolf next to her.

"I wonder if my dad is looking for me," she wondered out loud, voicing her fears for the first time since her escape. The wolf's ears twitched, but otherwise he remained still, letting her stroke him. "He would be by now, to keep up his image." Janie sighed, staring off into space, deep in thought. "Image. If only they knew. If only they could see the scars he made." She felt a warm, wet sensation across her hand. Looking down, she saw the wolf watching her. He licked her hand again, urging her to continue. She smiled sadly, and scratched him behind the ears.

"I wish I could have had you to protect me back when all my problems started," Janie said sadly. "He never would have touched me then, huh?" The wolf whined, licking her cheek comfortingly. Janie laughed, hugging him around his neck as best she could considering his size. "If only people could be as nice as you."

* * *

"I found out why she ran away, Emily," Jacob said, sitting down at the Uley's kitchen table after getting back from seeing his imprint.

"And?" she said, her back to him as she washed the pile of dishes in the sink, all of them from lunch alone.

"Her father abused her," he said slowly. "I think sexually."

Emily was silent for a while, the clanking of dishes the only noise filling the kitchen. She sighed, putting down the bowl she was washing and turning around while drying her hands on a towel.

"As awful as it is, I am not that shocked by it. It is a common occurrence today. Sad, but common. I do feel for you though Jake. It's going to be a tough obstacle to overcome."

"I just wish there was more I could do to help her," he replied, frustrated. He stared at the countertop, running his fingers absent-mindedly through his hair, making it stand up at odd angles.

"It will all work out, Jake. These things always do."

* * *

"_If happy little bluebirds fly, then why oh why can't?_" Janie sang softly as the moon shown down on her through the leaves. She was so content to sit in the woods in the warm summer night. But her peacefulness was quickly interrupted by a large brown figure darting out of the trees.

"What is wrong?" she asked the wolf, ignoring the fact that he wouldn't answer her. His eyes were filled with fear as he came over to her, tugging on her gown firmly but gently. She looked at him with her brow furrowed, confused. He whined urgently, lying down facing in the direction he had come.

"You want me to get on?" Janie asked, more than a little surprised as his head swiveled towards her, whining more urgently. She took the short whine he gave her as a yes. Carefully, she moved forward, climbing unsteadily onto his back. She had never ridden anything apart from the carousel at the fair when she was four, and when he stood up, she felt a wave of panic come over her.

"Don't you dare let me fall off," she said into his fur. She had buried her face into his neck so she couldn't see what was happening. Before she could brace herself, she felt her body being launched forward at a rapid pace as she clung to the wolf in a death grip.

Terrified, she clung to the wolf with vice grip hands. She felt the wind whipping at her clothes and hair as she rode at a breakneck speed; to where, she didn't know.

After what seemed like an eternity for Janie, the wolf slowed and came to a stop. She fell off the wolf's back in an unceremonious heap. She sat up and looked around at the clearing they had stopped in. But the wolf was gone. What was going on?

She sat there for a minute before Janie heard a rustling in the bushes coming towards her. Looking around, she expected to see her wolf returning. However, upon catching sight of what was moving towards her, she began crawling backward rapidly, shrinking back in fear.

An enormous man was walking towards her, dressed only in a shabby pair of jeans. He looked young with dark hair and bronze skin. She didn't know what to do. He was obviously far more athletic then she, and she knew he would be able to catch her and over power her easily if she ran. Janie watched him fearfully as he approached her slowly.

"Janie," he said softly, squatting down a couple feet from her. She frowned, but didn't say anything. How did he know her name? "Janie, I need you to come with me. I don't have time to explain." He held out his hand towards her. She glanced at it then up at him. Her eyes met his, and a flicker of recognition crossed her face. He had the same eyes as her wolf. What the-?

"Janie please," the man said softly, his eyes pleading with her to take his hand. Cautiously, she reached out towards him, not taking her eyes from his. She didn't see anything threatening in them, but she still was uneasy.

As soon as her hand touched his, his long fingers closed around her small hand, sending a wave of warmth through her. She shivered involuntarily as he lifted her to her feet effortlessly and began leading her away, not taking his hand from hers. She followed warily, jogging to keep up with his enormous strides. Now that they were both standing, she realized how tall he really was. Her head barley reached his chest.

It didn't take long before the two of them broke from the trees and Janie found herself looking at an open area with houses scattered around. She didn't have much time to look before she was being pulled towards the nearest house.

"Emily!" the man shouted as soon as they entered the house. A young woman entered the room carrying a pot she was drying, and looked from the man to Janie, a small smile crossing her face, which Janie was surprised to see was heavily scarred as if she had been attacked by a wild animal. "Emily, I need to go help Sam and the others. But I had to bring her here so she'd be safe," the man said very quickly, still not letting go of Janie.

"Of course," Emily said simply, indicating the couch to her left. The man led her over to the couch and gently forced her onto it, crouching down in front of her.

"I am sorry to leave you like this but I have to go now. I will be back soon and then I'll explain everything," he said, eyes never leaving hers. He paused briefly, as though he was going to continue, but stood up quickly instead and bolted towards the door, launching himself out into the night.

"Hi Janie," Emily said with a smile, putting her pot down on the kitchen table before coming over and sitting next to her on the couch. Janie was confused and frightened, so she remained silent, watching the woman carefully. "There's no need to be afraid," Emily said, still smiling encouragingly. "Jacob will be back soon and he will explain everything." So, his name was Jacob. She needed to remember that one.

"But why am I here?" Janie said softly, glancing around the room.

"That's something I think Jake needs to explain to you," Emily said.

"Well, can you at least tell me where I am?" Janie said carefully.

"Certainly," Emily replied. "You are in La Push Washington. This is the Quileute reservation. Where are you from, honey?"

"Seattle," Janie replied. She had never heard of La Push, which wasn't surprising. However, this meant she didn't know how far away she'd run. "How far away is that from here?"

"Quite a long ways," Emily said. "Which is probably why you don't look so good. Here, come with me and we'll get you cleaned up."

* * *

"Thank you for helping me Emily," Janie said, sitting on the couch once again, wrapped in a blanket over the loose pajamas Emily had given her. Emily was a couple inches taller than Janie, and the later was little more than bones, so the clothes hung off her quite a bit, but they were better than her old nightgown.

"Not a problem, I am happy to have another female around here," she said with a lopsided grin. Janie didn't feel right asking about the scars, and she liked Emily, so she didn't want to make her uncomfortable after she'd done so much for the new girl.

"And I appreciate all the food. You didn't have to do that." Emily laughed merrily. The sound was pleasant to hear.

"Believe me, dear, it is nothing. You should see what these boys inhale when they come to dinner."

Just then, the door swung open, and Jacob came in, looking a little worse for wear but otherwise happy. "The pack will be here shortly Emily, and they are starving, just to warn you," he said as a greeting.

"Of course they are," Emily said, apparently not bothered by the fact that Jacob had just referred to his friends as a pack. Janie found this curious, however, and just added to her confidence in the theory she had formulated while she'd been sitting with Emily.

"Janie," Jacob said, turning towards her. "If you don't mind, I think you should come with me. The pack can be a bit…rowdy."

"Where are we going?" she asked softly, glancing between him and Emily.

"Back to my dad's place," Jake said eagerly. Janie watched him carefully, unsure as to whether she should or not. She glanced at Emily, who nodded encouragingly. If Emily trusted him, then she supposed she could to. She stood carefully, folding the blanket and handing it to Emily. She was dressed in a pair of gray sweatpants and a plain blue long sleeve shirt. Jacob glanced down at her clothes before meeting her eyes. "I think you'll fit in my sister's clothes better than Emily's anyway. She was closer to your size."

He took her hand and, saying goodnight to Emily, led Janie out the door into the night. They walked in silence for a while until they reached another small house with a single window lit up.

"That'll be dad," Jacob said, looking at the house. "He should have dinner ready by now." Janie just looked up at Jacob briefly before he opened the door and pulled her inside.

"Hello Jake, I have dinner set out on the table," an elderly man in a wheelchair said, watching the television.

"Dad," Jake said, leading Janie towards his father. He glanced around, and upon catching sight of her, smiled, looking up at his son's face happily. "This is Janie," Jacob continued. "She is going to be staying here for…a while." He faltered on the last part. Janie glanced up at him again before looking back at the man smiling before her.

"Well it's nice to meet you Janie. I'm Billy Black, Jacob's father."

"Nice to meet you," Janie said softly, shaking his hand. "Thank you for letting me stay here."

"Not at all," Billy said, looking up at his son. "Do you want me to put out another plate?"

"No, it's alright, I ate at Emily's," Janie said softly. "I just think I need some sleep."

"Alright, well you can sleep in my daughters' room. They don't come home very much, so you're welcome to wear their clothes if you want too. I assume you'll need them considering you didn't bring a suitcase in with you."

"Thank you, Mr. Black," Janie said softly, turning to leave.

"You're welcome Janie, but please, call me Billy."

Janie nodded and started walking away, but she couldn't get her hand out of Jacob's. He began walking towards the stairs with her, and silently led her up the stairs. He led her to one of the rooms off the hall, and shut the door behind them.

"Janie, I owe you an explanation," he said, sitting on the bed. Janie had begun to panic when the door had shut, but he didn't make any threatening movements, so she just sat down next to him on the bed. She didn't have much of a choice. He still wouldn't let go of her hand.

"I know you won't believe this but I'm-"

"A werewolf," Janie finished for him. He looked at her in surprise. She looked down at her feet. "It was kind of obvious."

"What do you mean?" Jacob asked, slightly alarmed at being found out so easily.

"Well you have the same eyes as the wolf who has been watching me for weeks now, and then you show up right after he left, and you referred to your friends as a pack, and Emily said you were Quileute …"

"But you're not at all surprised by that?"

"Well," Janie said softly. "I read about your history once. I didn't have much else to do but read. And I always hoped that there was something supernatural out there, something that could save me…" She broke off, tears rolling down her cheeks now. She felt Jacob's hand on her cheek as he turned her face towards him. He rubbed her tears away with his thumb as she opened her eyes to look at him.

"When you read that book, did you read anything about imprinting?"

"Nnn-nooo," Janie said shakily, her blue eyes still welled up with tears.

"It happens when a protector meets his soul mate," Jacob said softly, not looking away from her. "He wants nothing more than to be with her and keep her safe. He can never hurt her, and will do anything she wants."

"What are you saying?" Janie said, shaking, her heart beating faster as his words began to sink in.

"I've imprinted on you Janie," Jacob said. "I love you."

Janie sat trembling, lost for words. She'd only really met him a couple hours ago, and she'd hardly spoken to him at all, then he throws this at her. It took quite a while for her to speak.

"I don't know what to say Jacob. B-but I am tired, so maybe it'll make sense in the morning…" she trailed off, looking at her toes. Jacob nodded sadly and stood up, finally letting go of her hand.

"Alright, I'll let you sleep then. The bathroom is down the hall to the left. You can use any of the clothes you find in here." He strode to the door, opened it, and left quickly, shutting it again behind him. Janie felt bad after seeing his reaction, but that was a lot to throw on a girl, especially one who had been lacking human contact for the past couple weeks.

She slowly stood up and went to the dresser, shuffling through the various garments until she found a pair of pajamas. They were silk. Shuddering, Janie put them back, pulling out instead a large shirt that fell almost to her knees. Satisfied, she turned off the light, and crossed over to the bed, crawled under the covers, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_Here's a nice long chapter for all of you. I know its been a while in coming, so it might seem a little rushed and choppy in parts, and I apologize. Hopefully it won't be as long before the next chapter. Enjoy!_

* * *

Janie woke up around noon, keeping her eyes closed for a while. She wondered if everything that had happened the last few weeks was a dream, for the second time. This was her bed in her house, with all the bad memories swirling in the air around her. Maybe if she kept her eyes closed, she could stay in her dream…

A thud down stairs made her start, sitting up abruptly and looking towards where her door should have been. In its place was a simple wood dresser. Her breath caught as she looked around, seeing all the unfamiliar yet wonderfully comforting sights that filled the small room. Maybe she was still dreaming, and it was only the room taking on an image she wanted it to.

Hopping out of bed, she rushed to the door and pulled it open. She found herself in a hallway, facing a set of stairs. She ran down them, still taking in everything, hardly believing it was true. She spun around at the foot of the stairs, eyes wide. She was free. Really, truly, free. Running barefoot on the cold wooden floor, she entered the kitchen. She came to an abrupt halt as four sets of eyes fell on her.

"Oh. Hello," she said timidly, eyes immediately falling. She stared at her toes as her cheeks turned red. "Sorry to have disturbed you." She tried to escape quickly back through the door, but she was grabbed by a set of hands and pulled further into the room.

"No need to be afraid, Janie, we won't bite." She glanced up at a grinning face, then looked around in fright at the other faces. They were all smiling at her, but she didn't recognize any of them.

"I'm Embry, by the way," the tall boy who grabbed her said. "And these are Jared, Quil, and Paul. I'm sure Jake's told you about us."

"Well, not really…" Janie trailed off softly. "I just know that you guys are werewolves."

"Oh well then that's the important part at least," Jared said with a hearty laugh. "If you can believe that you'll have no trouble believing the rest of what we have to tell you."

"We can leave that for later. Think of the stories we can tell her with Jake not here," Embry said, winking at Janie. She was not sure what to make of all these boys in front of her. Any one of them could over power her easily, which scared her, but none of them made any move to advance on her, which confused her. She was after all still in just a t-shirt, making her very uncomfortable in front of all these tall, strong boys. Embry had his arm around her shoulders still, but strangely he made her feel safe, though she wasn't quite sure why.

"He'll be back soon, so you might get cut off before the punchline. Wait till he's not gonna barge in and ruin the fun." Paul's comment had been made as a joke, but Janie shivered involuntarily at the thought of being trapped by these boys without Jacob to help if she needed it.

"Hey, you alright?" Quil asked, noticing her shudder. She looked up at him and saw the concern in his eyes. He looked like he genuinely cared, but she wasn't ready to put too much trust in him yet.

"Just cold," she muttered, looking away. She really wasn't. It seemed unusually warm in the kitchen. Perhaps someone had been baking recently.

"Well we can fix that!" Embry said, wrapping his arm tighter around her shoulder and leading her over to a stool. Just his tighter embrace helped to warm her up a couple degrees. He sat her on the stool gently and then grabbed a stack of pancakes from under Jared's nose as he was about to stick a fork in them.

"Eat up!" he said with a grin, grabbing a fork from the counter, inspecting it for dirt, wiping it on his shirt, then handing it to her. She took it and looked at it skeptically. But she had been in the woods for a week eating far worse things than could possibly be on the fork, so she just started eating, eyes focused on the plate.

"Wow, you will certainly fit in," Jared said, watching her eat. She glanced up at him briefly, fork half way to her mouth. "You eat like a werewolf."

Janie frowned, not sure if this was a compliment or an insult. Before she could decide, Jacob walked into the kitchen, shirtless and wet. She stared at him, her fork still hovering in front of her mouth. He paused, taking in the scene in front of him.

"What's going on guys?" he said in a soft, dangerous voice. He had obviously noticed the fact that Janie was surrounded by four good looking boys, while dressed only in an old Aerosmith t-shirt. Janie blushed, remembering the conversation they'd had the night before. Quickly, she looked down at her plate and started shoveling more food in her mouth.

"Hey Jake. We were just feeding Janie. Poor girl looks like she hasn't eaten in weeks. This is already her third pancake," Quil noted, watching her shovel the syrupy stuff into her mouth.

"I see," Jacob said, walking towards Janie, giving Embry a nasty look. The other boy immediately released her and went to sit at the other end of the table. Janie avoided Jacob's eyes, still unsure how to react to what he'd shared with her the night before. It made her slightly uncomfortable as he stood like a bodyguard at her right shoulder.

"Well I'm sure we all have things to be doing," Quil said authoritatively, breaking the awkward silence that had fallen over the kitchen. "Come on guys. Bye Jake. Nice to meet you Janie."

The boys all filed out after him, leaving Janie alone with Jacob. She wasn't sure if this was better or worse.

"How'd you sleep last night?" Jacob asked, sitting down on the stool Jared had vacated, watching her as she ate.

"Good," she said simply, still not looking at him.

"Janie, I'm sorry about last night," he said sheepishly, looking down at his hands. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. I just…well…"

"It's okay," Janie said softly, surprising even herself. "I understand. At least I think I do."

"You do?" Jacob said in surprise.

"Yeah. It's like in the fairytales and stuff. Kinda. Almost Beauty and the Beast-ish…I guess…"

Jacob laughed at this. "So which is which? Am I the beauty or the beast?"

"Beauty," Janie said without thinking. She was still trying not to stare at him as he sat there, still wet and still shirtless. As soon as she realized what she had said, she blushed deep red and went back to her pancakes.

"Well thank you," Jacob said with a grin. "But I would have to disagree." Embarrassed, Janie quickly changed the subject.

"So where did you go last night after you left me at Emily's?"

"Oh," Jacob said, his grin fading. "Well if you believe it, we were out hunting vampires."

"Vampires?" Janie said in shock. "Like Dracula or Angel?" Jacob smiled again at the look on her face.

"Not quite. Same idea, they drink blood and everything, but you don't kill them with holy water or a wooden stake. Just like we can't only be killed by silver bullets."

"Oh," Janie said softly. "So why were you out hunting them?"

"That's why we turn into werewolves. To protect our people from the Cold Ones, as they were called in the legends.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Janie asked, horrified that Jacob would go up against real vampires. He smiled at her concern. "Oh yes, but someone has to do it, right?"

"Poor Emily, knowing Sam is out there all the time, risking his neck…"

"She's used to it by now, and besides," Jacob said with a smile. "We rarely actually see them, since the Cullen's left."

"Who?" she asked, thinking it was an innocent question. But the look on Jacob's face made her regret it instantly. "I'm sorry, I didn't know that was such a sensitive topic…"

"No, it's alright. You should know."

Jacob spent the next twenty minutes retelling his story to Janie. She sat silently watching him, tearing up at how sad it was. It also made her think about her own sad story, which made her cry harder. He shared his story with her; she should share hers with him.

"I wish I could say I knew how you felt, but I've never even got the chance at love," she said quietly, her eyes watching the syrup trickle across her plate. Sniffing, she launched into her tale.

Janie grew up as a relatively normal child with over protective parents. But when she turned 13, her father started to become more than protective. He wouldn't let any male touch her, no matter how innocent the gesture. He kept her closer and closer to him. She was soon allowed to go to her private girls' school, and then come straight home, no side trips anywhere, no outings with friends, nothing.

It wasn't long after she turned 14 that he started abusing her. It quickly escalated, until her mother tried to stop him. He broke her arm and left her so bruised and beaten that she had to take two weeks off from work before she could pretend to be normal again.

Janie tolerated this treatment for three years before she ran away, and somehow ended up in La Push.

She tried to make the story as short and to the point as she could, without giving any of the horrid details. But she still couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. When she stopped talking, Jacob pulled her to his chest and held her close, letting her cry into his chest.

"Janie," he said quietly, resting his chin on her head. "It's okay. You don't have to think about it anymore. You're safe here. I promise."

Unable to say anything, Janie stayed where she was, her head resting comfortably against Jacob's chest. It was so warm, and she could hear his heart beating rapidly in his ribcage. She didn't doubt hers was keeping pace as Jacob's arms squeezed her tighter.

"Jacob," she said quietly after a while. He grunted to let her know he was listening. "What if he finds me?"

This wasn't at all what Jacob had been expecting. He was silent for a while, thinking how to best put to ease her mind. He chose humor.

"Well, you are now under the protection of a pack of vicious werewolves, I think we can come up with something." He was rewarded with a slight giggle from Janie. Grinning, he moved her back a step so he could look at her. Her checks were tearstained, but she had a small smile on her lips, and her blue eyes sparkled.

"Don't worry. You are far away from him now, and I promise to never hurt you."

"Thank you Jacob."

* * *

Janie spent the next few days awkwardly hanging out around the Black house, watching TV or sitting on the porch, watching the world. She was fascinated with the peacefulness of La Push, without all the loud cars and pedestrians like there were in Seattle. Even though she'd spent weeks in these woods, she couldn't believe people could live in such a remote place.

There was nothing in the world Jenny enjoyed more than sitting outside on the Black's porch, or laying in the grass staring at the sky when it was not raining. But she decided that she mine as well do something while she sat outside.

"Billy," she asked as the two of them ate breakfast one morning. "Is there a library around here?"

"There's one in Forks if you would like to go. Sue Clearwater and I are going to visit a friend there tomorrow if you would like to come with."

"Yes please," Janie said happily, taking another bite of her cereal.

"Anything in particular you're looking for?"

"Not really," Janie said softly. "I just like to read."

"Well we'd be happy to have you come with us."

The next morning, Janie found herself in the back seat of a car driving into Forks. Billy and Sue were up front, talking to each other, while she sat in the back seat, looking out at the landscape passing by, with Jacob sitting uncomfortably next to her.

* * *

"You really didn't have to come," Janie said softly, looking over at him as he moved again. "I know you're busy."

"Not that busy. And besides, I can't leave you alone with the old people. They will bore you to tears."

"I heard that," Billy said loudly. Janie smiled.

"I'm sure I'd be okay. I'm used to being on my own."

"Just cause you're used to it doesn't mean you have to deal with it all the time. We can browse the library while they visit with Charlie, and if you get tired there we can go eat or something."

"Okay," Janie said in her soft voice. She wasn't sure how she felt going out into town and being around so many people. Having Jacob there was probably for the best.

"Do you want to be dropped off or to walk over?" Sue asked sweetly.

"How far is it from your friend's house?"

"Not too far," Jacob said. "We can walk."

They pulled into the driveway of a neat little house and the four of them got out of the car. Billy and Sue's friend Charlie was in the driveway waiting for them.

"Good morning Sue, Billy, Jacob. Who's this?"

"Hi Charlie, this is Janie," Jacob said, putting his arm protectively around her thin shoulders.

"Hello Janie. Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, sir," Janie said, shaking his hand hesitantly. He was Billy's friend, but she wasn't sure how she felt about him being a cop. Her father was friends with too many officers.

"We'll see you guys in a few hours," Jacob said, steering Janie away from the group. "See you later Charlie."

The pair walked down the street in silence for a bit. Janie's eyes were wandering everywhere, trying to take in everything. But she had noticed something during the conversations.

"Jacob," she said timidly. He looked down at her expectantly. "Is Charlie Bella's father?"

"Yeah," Jacob sighed, putting his hands in his pocket. "If Dad and Sue didn't come visit him regularly I don't know what he'd do. Bella leaving hit him really hard."

"I don't understand why Bella would leave like that, if she had a father who cared for her that much. I'd do anything to have a father like that."

"I don't understand it either, Janie. But there's no point wondering now. She's long gone."

Janie looked up at him as he said this and saw the sadness in his eyes. She felt bad for him and all he had been through. Slowly, she pulled his hand out of his pocket and held it in her own, moving closer to him. He smiled down at her, and she smiled back, feeling better herself just being closer to him. Together, they continued walking until they reached the middle of Forks.

"Is this it?" she asked, looking around at the small shops and nearly empty streets. "It's a Saturday, where is everyone?"

"This is everyone," Jacob laughed. "This is downtown Forks, if we can even call it that."

"Where's the library?"

"Right over there," Jacob pointed. "Come on. It should be open by now."

A bell chimed as they entered the tiny building. An elderly woman sat at the desk, looking every bit the way a librarian should, down to the glasses and pursed lips.

"Hello there. How can I help you?"

"We just wanted to have a look and see what you have," Jacob said with a smile. "We may need to get a library card too, if we do find anything."

"Alright well just let me know if you need help," the old woman said pleasantly.

"Thank you," Janie said softly, walking off towards the fiction section, Jacob following obediently.

Janie scanned the stacks of books for nearly an hour without saying a word. Jacob followed her for awhile, before finding an arm chair and sitting down with a car magazine to entertain himself. Janie wasn't sure what she was in the mood to read, so she had trouble making a decision.

"Jacob," she said suddenly. He looked up from his magazine at her. "Do you like fantasy or historical fiction better?"

"Honestly, I don't much care for either. But go with the historical fiction. The authors at least try to be somewhat realistic in those."

"Okay," she said, disappearing back down a row of books. It took another hour for her to reappear, this time with a pile of books in her arms.

"I think I'm good for now if you're ready to head out, Jacob."

"You sure you got enough?" Jacob said sarcastically, taking the books from her.

"No, but I'm sure I can come back and get more soon, right?" she said, missing the sarcasm.

"Anytime you would like," Jacob said, smiling at the innocent look she gave him.

"Are you ready to sign up for a library card?" the librarian asked.

"Yes please," Janie said, watching as the woman brought out a form for her to fill out.

"Just fill this out and we can get you set up. It will be five dollars a month for the card."

"Oh," Jenny said, her face falling. "I didn't realize it cost anything."

"Don't worry about it," Jacob said, pulling out his wallet. "I'll cover it. This library is small enough they have to charge patrons, not like your Seattle ones I'm guessing."

"No, the public library is totally free, unless a book is overdue," Jenny said, filling in the form. "Thank you, Jacob."

"No problem," he said, putting his wallet away as Jenny handed over the completed form.

"Alright, Miss Matthews, you're all set. These will be due in four weeks. Enjoy your weekend."

"Thank you, ma'am," Janie said, reaching for the stack of books. Jacob beat her to it and picked them up before she could get a hand on them. "You too."

"Now what?" Janie asked as they got outside. She pulled her coat tighter as the chilly breeze ran over her.

"Why don't we buy a tote bag or something for you to keep these in, then we can go eat," Jacob said, balancing the stack of books. "If you keep getting this many each time it will be worth it."

"But I don't want you to keep spending money on me. It's bad enough I live in your house without paying rent or anything."

"Janie," Jacob said, looking down on her sternly. "I am going to keep buying you things no matter what you say. At least this is something useful."

"But-"

"No buts. Come on, we can probably get one at the shop over there."


	4. Chapter 4

Janie and Jacob sat in the local café, eating lunch in silence. Janie was thinking about how different Forks was from Seattle. She'd expected a much bigger town, one where she could come and go without being noticed. It made her slightly nervous being in a town this small. Everyone who looked at her knew she was new to the area. She wanted to go back to La Push where she could hide in the Jacob's house.

"Are you okay?" Jacob asked, taking a break from shoveling his massive plate of food into his mouth. Janie looked up at him from her own bowl of soup.

"Yea I guess," she said softly. "I just thought Forks would be bigger."

"Nah, this is it. Not much to it I know, but its better that way. Believe me."

Janie didn't reply, but continued eating her soup. She didn't agree, but she wasn't about to tell Jacob why she was so nervous. He would laugh at her.

"Is there anything else you wanted to do while we are here?" he asked, still watching her.

"No," she said shortly. She felt Jacob's eyes on her for a while, but didn't look up at him.

"What's wrong, Janie?" he asked after a long silence. His voice was soft and full of worry. He could tell she was uncomfortable, no matter how much she tried to hide it.

"Nothing," she said, putting more force into the word. "I'm fine."

"No you're not," Jacob said, still watching her. "What is wrong?"

"Nothing!" Janie said angrily, pushing her chair back and standing up. She quickly walked out of the café. It didn't take long before Jacob caught up to her and grabbed her arm. She tried to pull away, but there was no way she could escape his iron grip. As she fought him, his grip got tighter, and she winced at the pain.

"Jacob, stop, that hurts," she said, trying to push him off.

"Sorry," he said, immediately letting her go. "Are you okay? Tell me the truth."

"No," she said, her eyes starting to water. "Can we go now? I don't like it here."

"Of course," Jacob said, gently leading her down the street towards Charlie's place. Janie sniffed, still fighting back her tears. She felt Jacob wrap his arm around her shoulders as they walked, and she felt a little better.

When they reached Charlie's, Jacob sat down on the porch steps, pulling her down next to him.

"Are you gonna be alright, Janie?"

"Yea," she said softly. "I just don't like not being able to blend in. Everyone knew I wasn't from Forks. What if word gets back to my father?"

"Don't worry," Jacob said, pulling her closer. "If he does, we will keep you safe. He won't be able to find you on the Rez."

Janie sat on the couch with a book in her hand, her knees pulled to her chest as she read. Jacob had tried to get her to go with him to the Uhley's house, but she said she was just getting to the good part of her book and wanted to finish it up. This wasn't a complete lie, but it wasn't really the truth either. She still felt really intimidated by Jacob's friends and preferred not to be stuck in a house full of rowdy boys.

As she flipped a page, she heard a knock at the door. Looking up, she slowly put her book down and walked to the door. She nervously looked out the window, trying to see who was on the porch before she opened the door to the unknown visitor. She smiled when she saw it was Emily.

"Hi, Emily. What are you doing here?" Janie said, standing to the side as she opened the door to let the other woman in.

"I came to see how you were doing and if you wanted to have a girls' night. The boys are all at my place eating me out of house and home, so I thought maybe you wanted to go out with me and some friends. Get away from the Rez for a bit. Maybe get you some new clothes," she said, glancing down at the sweats and t-shirt Janie was currently wearing.

"But I don't have any money," Janie said softly. "And I don't really want to go into Forks again."

"Not to worry, I can cover you. And we were going to go into Port Angeles for the evening. It's a lot bigger than Forks so they'll be more shops to look at."

Janie thought about it. Bigger city, less noticeable. She couldn't stay cooped up in the Black house forever. And she had never had a girls' night before.

"Okay. Sounds like fun."

It took a while for Janie to get used to, but hanging out with Emily and her friends Casey and Vivian in Port Angeles was more fun than she had thought it would be. The three of them spent most of the time clothes shopping, and despite Janie's protests, Emily bought her a couple pairs of jeans and a green sundress, "Just in case."

They had a simple dinner at an Italian restaurant, where Janie got spaghetti, some of the best she had ever had. Gelato for dessert made her extremely happy as well. By the end of the night as the group drove home, Janie was laughing and joking along with the rest of them. It had been a long time since she had had girlfriends to talk to. She hadn't realized how much she missed it.

They got home at about eleven, and Janie waved good-bye as Emily drove off. She reached for the handle to open the door but before she could it was pulled open violently. Jacob stood in the doorway, his eyes filled with worry.

"Are you alright? I was worried when I got home and you were gone. Sam said you had gone off to Port Angeles with Emily. How was it?"

"I'm fine," Janie said with a smile, holding up her bags. "We just went shopping. Emily said I needed some new clothes. I don't mind wearing your sister's things but it'll be nice to have my own clothes. I guess I should get a job so I can start paying for things on my own."

"Oh," was all Jacob could say as she walked into the house. "Well I'm glad you had fun." He sounded a little put out to Janie, but she forgot it as soon as she saw Billy wheel out of the kitchen.

"How was shopping Janie?" he said with a smile. He was much less concerned than Jacob seemed to be. She supposed that was because of the imprinting thing. She wondered if he would get this nervous every time she went out, or if it was just because she had been so unhappy when they'd gone to Forks earlier in the week.

"It was fun. Emily bought me some new clothes. I need to find a job so I can pay her and you guys back."

"Oh don't worry about that. But if you want a job I can start asking around. I'm sure there is something on the Rez for you to do."

"Thanks Billy," she said with a smile. "I'm going to go put these away and go to bed. Goodnight!"

Jacob watched her disappear up the stairs, a frown still on his face.


End file.
